By Account Executive Kelsey Whitmeyer
In today’s marketing game, it’s all about who’s the best at engagement. How are you actively offering the most exciting user experience? Are you hitting the sweet spot? Our team has identified some trends to avoid fielding errors in your social engagement game.
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?
And How Can I Use It in Business?
Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information within the user’s environment in real time. It is the blending of interactive digital elements – such as dazzling visual overlays, buzzy haptic feedback, or other sensory projections – into our real-world environments. It brings together your imagination and the real world as one.
Snapchat is a fun and popular messaging app and service offering AR effects. It’s a fast and interactive way to share a moment, especially for those companies consistently attending industry events. For example, at your next trade show. Or, how about making that next facility grand opening more enticing with the use of AR effects.
On Instagram, you can use AR as computer-generated effects superimposed on real-life images, called AR filters. AR filters work with your camera, adding a layer or imagery in the foreground or background of your image.
Custom AR filters on Instagram are a way to connect your brand’s name and account to the filter. Anyone using it or seeing it will see your company information. While there are many filters that create a silly feel or serve well for special occasions, they are also powerful for brands by driving organic traffic.
How? One follower shares a filter and reaches many of his or her own followers. Those users then share the filter with their followers. The bases are rounded until hundreds, even thousands of people have seen or used the filter, amping up a brand’s name and social media followers. And, it’s a fun way to increase brand awareness!
Clips by Apple lets users cut together short videos and photos, add AR filters, emojis and music and send them out into the world – albeit without a standalone social network attached.
It’s also a fun way to enhance your real-world environment with playful, immersive effects. Test it out by recording a fun message or company announcement in a vertical or horizontal orientation, sized to social standards, and share your augmented world to your newsfeed!
What is virtual Reality (vR)?
You may have seen ads for – or persons using – headsets to interact in a virtual world. That is Virtual Reality (VR). Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel he is immersed in his surroundings. This environment is perceived through a device known as a Virtual Reality headset or helmet.
Facebook recently took a big leap into virtual reality. While social VR has been around for a while, Facebook is now offering its own virtual reality social networking platform called Horizon. The platform offers easy building tools that allow for users to bring ideas to life within the VR.
What’s social media without bringing your imagination to life?
Expand Your Reach With Location-Based Marketing
Geolocation refers to the use of location technologies such as GPS or IP addresses to identify and track the whereabouts of connected electronic devices. Using geolocation in social media has become an increasingly successful way to improve the effectiveness of a social media campaign. Geolocation-based data enables companies to learn more about their customers, better adapting to their needs and interests.
Geotargeting is a geolocation-powered tactic to reach an audience of people within a specific location. Facebook and Instagram have made geotargeting more accessible, with the option to customize different sets of audiences, depending on the targets’ locations. Your reach potential jumps from 6,000 to 60,000.
Throw a Curveball With a Snapchat Geofilter
Snapchat Geofilters let you add specific, location-based filters to your photos. Add some company customization at your next trade show, customer event or facility tour! And, at that facility tour, encourage attendees to take photos using the filter! Snapchat charges per Geofilter. They are fairly inexpensive yet provide a lot of value.
Don’t strike out by missing your opportunity to take part in these user-generated content techniques on social media.
At Foster Marketing, we are actively engaged in offering new solutions to best position our clients for success. Step up to the plate and get started with us today by giving us a call.